Category: Information for Skype Camgirls

Providing Independent Cam Shows with a Smile

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Challenges Camgirls Face When Providing Independent Cam Shows

Recently I read a post on a camgirl forum I frequent that involved the frustrations that come with being a camgirl providing independent cam shows on yahoo and skype. This camgirl was fairly new to the business and was struggling to cope with some of issues that arise when we’re independent camgirls doing everything for ourselves, and since I know these sorts of frustrations are common I figured I’d use this space to write about some of these challenges, and more importantly, how to counter them effectively.

 

The Challenges in Stereotype

One of the most frequent complaints made by newly independent camgirls offering independent cam shows is the dreaded ‘time waster’. This is the dude who’s bored and broke and who hits up independent camgirls asking for previews, free sex chat and other nonsense. Another brand of moron is the ‘paypal bb’ guy, who trolls the internet seeking camgirls who will accept paypal for their independent cam shows. He seeks out these camgirls because it’s easy to chargeback after the fact if paypal is used. The last brand of annoyance faced by independent camgirls are the flat-out trolls. While luckily few and far between, there are always a few who will troll both the most successful independent camgirls and the newest camgirls, in the hopes of demoralizing the former and driving the latter away from the niche. They’ll ask a ton of questions and attempt to monopolize your time, and if they don’t get their way they launch into a barrage of insults. Charming 🙂

 

How to Deal With the Annoyances and Perform Independent Cam Shows With Pleasure

Now that we’ve covered the common ‘types’, let’s move on to how to deal with em 🙂

The one thing that’s vital for independent camgirls to keep in mind is that WE choose what we allow to bothers us, and WE choose how we spend our time. With that philosophy in mind the ‘time waster’ type simply ceases to exist, in that we as independent camgirls can choose to prohibit guys from monopolizing our time. Say a guy contacts you for an independent cam show and asks for a preview or a type of show you don’t offer. Just politely say no and move on. If the guy is serious about seeing you on cam he’ll accept what you’re comfortable with. If not, his loss 🙂 Seriously, I know a ton of independent camgirls who will argue with these guys endlessly about why they don’t offer previews, why they don’t do x, y and z and they still end up with the same result as the camgirls who just say no. The only difference is the former waste a ton of time arguing on the internet, for free at that.

It’s pretty simple; a guy either wants to have fun or he doesn’t. If he’s dead set on a free preview and you don’t offer previews he needs to look elsewhere. Same thing if he wants a type of show you don’t offer. To each their own of course, but in my opinion trying to ‘convince’ a guy to book a cam show isn’t really worth the effort. If he wants to cum with me he’ll follow my rules and get on cam with me. If he’s not prepared to do that, peace son 🙂

I don’t say this with anger, rather, this is my strategy for preventing anger or frustration. In not allowing the ‘time wasters’ to monopolize a moment of my time, I preserve my time and energy for all the great guys out there who actually deserve it. Arguing on the internet has never seemed like much fun to me anyways 🙂

I tend to deal with the ‘paypal’ dudes the same way. I don’t really care why they want to use paypal, I just simply don’t offer it. If that’s the only payment system they are prepared to use, they won’t be doing a show with me. Paypal’s anti-adult policy has been in effect for quite a few years now so there’s very few guys out there who are genuinely unaware of the pitfalls. For those who aren’t aware, I have written info all over my websites explaining my position. Like I wrote above, if a guy wants to have some fun he’ll pull out his credit card and get the formalities over with quickly. A guy who wants to argue about paypal isn’t worth the time or effort. My advice is again, save your time for the great guys.

The third type is the troll, and it’s why god in her infinite wisdom created the ban button. If someone annoys you or presents himself in an abusive manner, just block and move on. Never allow insults to ruin your mood.

 

Providing Independent Cam Shows With a REAL Smile

If you notice a pattern here, I advocate a pretty basic approach to independent cam shows. Being successful and maintaining a great frame of mind involves figuring out how to block out the nonsense and enjoy our work.  The great guys are out there and we need to be open to meeting them, and we also need to realize that WE control how we interact with any given person. No one can waste our time or annoy us if we don’t let them 🙂

I look at providing cam shows as having an amazing time on cam and making great money while doing so. Truth is, the great guys need to be (and deserve to be) the focus of our time and attention, and independent camgirls who allow the losers to get to them will alienate the great guys. What’s the point of promoting yourself and being online if every interaction causes you stress, causing you to be rude to the great guys because you’re anticipating nonsense? Relax, take a deep breath and enjoy yourself. If a guy annoys you or tries to waste your time, move on with a smile, knowing that anyone bored and lonely enough to troll camgirls on the internet should be pitied, not hated.

While everyone has to find strategies that work for them, mine has worked for me in the four years that I’ve been a camgirl providing solely independent cam shows. Truth is I love my job, and all the ‘paypal bb’s’ in the world could never change that. I hope some of what I have to say is of use to all of you new independent camgirls out there if you struggle with frustration from time to time. In providing independent cam shows be prepared to accept the good as well as the bad, be smart enough to choose which gets your focus and energy.

Good luck out there bb’s

Independent Cam Girls and Maintaining Boundaries

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independent cam girl in pink lace and silk teddy during a webcam show

For Independent Cam Girls Maintaining Boundaries is an Integral Skill

For independent cam girls who are new to performing cam shows on yahoo and skype, establishing and maintaining boundaries is vital skill that will enable you to prevent frustration and maximize your earnings AND your enjoyment of the job. While learning how to establish boundaries is an important skill for all camgirls, for independent cam girls this is even more important simply because some of the coolest aspects of our work (the lack of stupid ‘no offsite contact’ rules, running our own cam shows, the ability to interact with our playmates and jump on skype for fun whenever and wherever we want without having to log into a webcam site) means that we tend to be available far more often than our cam girl peers who work the big box sites. That’s a great thing, but the ease of communication and the availability that being independent cam girls provides means that we have to establish and maintain personal boundaries that work for us, so that our cam work doesn’t interfer with other aspects of our lives or our emotional health.

 

How Independent Cam Girls Set Boundaries: Figure Out What’s Important To You

Personal boundaries will be different for each independent cam girl, depending upon the unique circumstances of our lives. For example, while I enjoy a chat between cam shows with my friends and playmates every now and then, I am not okay with people dropping by in the middle of the workday expecting to have an extended conversation with me. I work online, ergo when I’m online I’m working. My friends and playmates understand and respect that, and those that don’t…oh well :). I look at the matter this way, as much as my cam playmates enjoy my company, they would not be ok with me dropping by during their work day expecting their undivided attention, and it would be silly of me to expect that 🙂 The same holds true in reverse. All independent cam girls will have things that aren’t acceptable to them, so step one is simply a matter of deciding what you’re ok with and what you aren’t.

Another important set of boundaries to me is my limits on cam. I have a list of things I don’t feel comfortable doing on cam and I don’t let guys try to persuade me into doing something I don’t want to do. Those limits aren’t up for debate, and anyone who can’t take no for an answer isn’t the sort of person I want to spend time with, full stop.

As important as establishing boundaries is actually feeling comfortable discussing them. It’s not fair to get pissed at a guy for doing something you don’t like, if you don’t let him know what it is you don’t actually like. That goes for cam sex boundaries (what acts you’re into, what acts you won’t do), contact boundaries, how one handles shows that run overtime, everything. Part of being independent is creating your own rules, and independent cam girls need to feel comfortable expressing those rules, otherwise there’s not much point in having them. Always remember that our customers aren’t our adversaries, they want to have fun with us. It’s our job to tell them what WE need in order for the experience to be enjoyable.

 

Establishing Boundaries Will Not Impact Your Earnings

It seems some new independent cam girls worry that establishing boundaries will harm their ability to build a business. On the contrary, not establishing boundaries (or establishing them but not making those boundaries clear) is a recipe for misunderstandings, frustration on both sides and job dissatisfaction. Please never feel that as a camgirl you need to offer a specific act in order to be successful, or feel compelled to let guys walk all over you in order to build a base of regular playmates. Those cam girls (independent or otherwise) who do these things end up hating their work and their customers, it’s simply not worth it.

I’ve been an independent cam girl for 4 years now, and the vast majority of the independent webcam sex playmates I encounter are genuinely wicked guys who want a real person to have fun with. A real person has limits, boundaries, personal likes and dislikes, and I’ve never felt my income or my success has been hindered by the fact that I don’t do anal, accept paypal, offer watersports, etc. Another aspect in establishing independent cam girl boundaries is having confidence in your own personality and your ability to give a wicked cam sex experience, within your own terms. Building an independent cam girl business is a process that takes time, but the effort is worth it. After all, what’s the point of running your own business if you dread each interaction with your playmates because you let them walk all over you.

 

Maintaining Boundaries Need Not Be Adversarial

Like I wrote above, our playmates aren’t our adversaries. Don’t get stressed out explaining your boundaries and sticking to them, just approach discussions as if your boundaries are a natural and logical part of an independent cam sex interaction with you, because they are. We’re independent cam girls, we’re not bound by any rules other than our own comfort, our own peace of mind, and extending the same respect to the guys with whom we do cam shows.

In that sense, while boundaries are vital they aren’t such a big deal or all that complicated. They are simply what you’re ok with, and with what you aren’t. The great guys, the ones you WANT to have on your skype list will get that. Have confidence in your ability to give great shows on your own terms and you’ll do fine.

Independent Cam Girls Do It Better

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The Independent Cam Girls Scene is Changing: We Need to Be on Our Toes

independent cam girls on webcam in black lace

I feel a bit odd writing this, but the topic of changes to the independent cam girls ‘scene’ has been on my mind a lot recently so I figured I’d just write it out 🙂 Like cam sex itself, the niche of independent cam girls is a new niche and the field is constantly changing. New technology emerges rendering the old obsolete, independent cam girl listing sites rise and fall, but through it all the tough (that’s us) 🙂 keep thriving. First off, I want to make something clear. I’m not averse to change, while I’m somewhat cat-like in the sense that when things are good I want them to stay exactly the same for ever and ever, I’ve come to realize over the past few years that change is pretty much always for the better, if we use our minds creatively.

Sites With Problematic Payment Options, Camgirl Contracts and Business Plans

There’s been a couple of new independent cam girl listing sites that have emerged recently that really concern me. One features really questionable payment options, and the other has an independent cam girl contract that makes me cringe. It’s seriously that bad. I don’t want to put these sites on blast publicly, partly because I don’t think it’s fair to critique a site without giving the site reps an opportunity to respond (and I’m not about to turn my beloved cam sex blog into a mouthpiece for PR) and partly because I don’t want to  give the site any extra traffic from the independent cam sex fans who read here. What I would hope is that if you’re a cam girl who is new to independent camming, that you would scrutinize the model contracts of every independent cam girl listing site you join. Think critically, and when in doubt ask questions, both to your cam girl peers or to the site reps themselves.

If you’re wondering about the sites to which I’m obliquely referring, feel free to drop me an email at jesse@quinn69.com. I would never try to tell other independent cam girls how to run their businesses or which sites to use or not use, but at the same time there are a few lessons I’ve learned the hard way. I don’t want anyone to get burned simply because they don’t know what to look out for. With that said, there are a few (old and new) listing sites for independent cam girls that are run by open, honest and legitimate webmasters, so if you need some rec’s on the good guys (and girls) feel free to hit me up via email for those as well.

In being independent cam girls we occupy a pretty unique space, when ya think about it. On the one hand we’re entirely independent, but on the other we rely upon each other to help build this niche, as not a single one of us can do that alone. In that way I do think of each one of us as members of a pretty wicked community, even those independent cam girls who have never exchanged a word between each other. That’s where I’m coming from with this post…I see a couple of sites that have huge warning flags waving and I don’t want to just sit by silently and watch my peers potentially get burned.

In closing, just watch out for yourself. Read your contracts, question anything that seems odd and never feel you NEED to join any given site in order to succeed. Have faith in your own judgement and ability to turn hard work into something awesome.

*drops dildo and steps off soapbox*

Payment Processing for Skype Cam Girls: Update

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skype cam girls live on webcam

 

New Fees for Skype Cam Girls

Not all change is for the better, and the latest development in the arena of payment processing for skype cam girls sucks. Those of you who have independent skype cam girl merchant accounts already know this, but for those skype cam girls out there who are weighing the pros and cons of different payment processing options before making the leap, know that Mastercard has now decided to charge an annual $500 fee per merchant account for the ability to offer this particular credit card option. Combined with the annual $500 Visa fee, upfront charge of $750 and per-sale payment processing costs that typically range from 10-15%, we’re talking a significant chunk of change per year, solely for the privilege of offering Visa and Mastercard payment options to our cam sex customers.

 

Options for Skype Cam Girls That Do Not Involve Annual Fees

Luckily there are ways around these new skype cam girl merchant account fees. Zombaio is one payment processing option that involves no upfront or annual fees for credit card processing and has low processing rates by adult industry standards. It’s a service I recommend highly. The drawbacks, as I’ve explored before here, are that the installation of Zombaio can be quite tricky if their automatic installation system won’t work on your site, and payouts must process for a full month before being sent out. It’s not an ideal solution for those skype cam girls who rely on quick payouts.

One positive thing I’ve noticed about Zombaio is that over the past couple of years it’s become far more well-known amongst customers and potential customers. This is important because many guys are a bit wary of using a total unknown (to them) payment method, and it wasn’t too long ago that many guys only felt safe using a well-known system like CCBill. I’ve definitely noticed that over the past couple of years more and more new customers feel comfortable using Zombaio, perhaps because many mainstream cam sites use non-CCBill options so they are growing accustomed to trying other systems, but either way this is good news for independent camgirls who want to process their own payments without paying a ton of money to Visa and Mastercard for the privilege of doing so. Zombaio is my first choice processor and I’ve been happily using it to book high volumes of business for almost a year now.

You can also join an independent skype cam girl listing site and use that site’s payment processor, but the drawback here is that sites that do not offer processing through CCBill are set up in such a way that you have no control over the money you earn until the site owner sends it to you. The main risk involved in using private processing offered by sites that list skype cam girls is that you rely upon the goodwill and professionalism of the site owner to send you the payments you’ve earned. Luckily the vast majority of skype cam girl listing site owners are honest and professional, but still I’d be wary of building too much of your business around something you don’t fully control.

While the processing rates for skype cam girl listing sites that offer CCBill tend to be high (at 25%, leaving you with 75%), the main benefit is that payments are sent directly through CCBill, these sites do not act as a middle-man between you and your money.

 

How Should Skype Cam Girls Proceed Regarding These New Credit Card Fees?

There is no ‘one size fits all’ answer, of course, but if you’re a brand new to being a skype cam girl I would not recommend that you set up your own merchant account and pay the fees for credit card processing right away, as many skype cam girls start off making fairly little as they build their customer bases and businesses. What I would suggest is using a range of options to minimize risk, using a combination of Zombaio and skype cam girl listing site processing to ensure that, should something go wrong, your entire business model does not come crashing down or your funds lost.

In all things, we skype cam girls must think strategically. Being an entrepreneur means using creativity and logic in equal doses when creating and executing a business plan, and finding secure, reliable and sustainable payment processing options is a huge part of that. You can’t build a successful and sustainable business on amazon giftcards, moneypak and payoneer private load paments alone so finding good credit card processing options are a must.

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Independent Cam Girls and Creativity

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independent cam girls smoking

Ingenuity is Integral to the Success of Independent Cam Girls

Of all the things I respect and appreciate the most about my peers who are successful independent cam girls is the creativity and ingenuity that they (we) bring to our careers. As this is a fairly small field successful independent skype cam girls understand that it doesn’t do anyone any good to have us all be the same, with the same websites with same site content all over the web…first off it bores our cam sex playmates, it’s uninspired, and those cam girls who don’t really take a risk, think creatively and put themselves into their work are missing out on the best thing about our jobs, namely that as independent skype cam girls we can turn our online presence, our personas, our work into anything we want them to be.

Think about it, your website, what you write, how you present yourself essentially is who you are online. Who we are as individuals is the strongest asset all independent cam girls bring to our respective work, and from what I’ve seen the girls who don’t get that flounder. Being an independent skype camgirl has an emphasis on the ‘individual’ part…camgirls who don’t get that aren’t cut out for this work. Being an entreupreneur is essentially about doing one’s own thing. I love seeing my peers succeed, particularly new independent cam girls who have decided to take a risk and venture out on their own but at the same time I find it sad when intelligent, creative women doubt their own abilities and don’t extend their careers beyond what’s already been done, who simply mimic others because they don’t have the confidence to do their own thing. I find it sad because these independent cam girls are missing out on the amazing freedom that comes with being able to completely express ourselves, and I find it sad because it means that they aren’t contributing to this niche in a manner that will excite our shared customer base in new and meaningful ways.

I really can’t stress this enough, to succeed independent skype cam girls need to bring our unique individuality to our work. Do something crazy, do something completely organic to who you are, that separates you from every other cam girl. Those who don’t understand this are missing out on a shit ton of creative fun, and from what I’ve seen, end up returning to the cam sites.

To Newly Independent Cam Girls

A small favor to ask. I think it’s amazing whenever I see camgirls getting into this niche, and I appreciate that the process of learning about becoming an independent webcam girl can be a slightly overwhelming process initially. That said, if you have specific questions I can answer for you I’m happy to do so, just please email me at jesse@quinn69.com. Please do not contact me on yahoo messenger. When I’m online I’m either working at my computer or I’m on skype doing a cam show, I don’t have the luxury of dropping everything to have a conversation whenever I wish.
Also bear in mind that while I’m happy to answer specific questions if I can, a salient feature of being independent is doing your own research and using your own creativity. I won’t write you a blueprint on how to become an independent webcam girl because there is no ‘one’ way to do things. I’ve received a lot of questions and messages lately from webcam girls new to skype cam sex so I just wanted to explain where I’m coming from.
Thanks for your consideration and happy camming.